US 5,970,427 A · Disk brake testing device and system employing the same

Abstract

A brake testing device evaluates the condition of a disk having a disk axis and first and second disk surfaces that are normal to the disk axis. The device has a pair of gauges, each having a sensing element for measuring the position of one of the disk surfaces along a line parallel to the disk axis. The gauges generate position signals corresponding to the measured positions of the disk surfaces. The gauges are secured with respect to each other so as to measure positions along parallel lines, and the device positions the gauges to measure the disk surfaces at points equidistant from the disk axis. The gauges are preferably configured to allow testing a disk surrounded by a wheel and a dust shield. The device may be part of a system which processes the position signals to determine the thickness and the lateral run-out of the disk. The system may additionally compare the thickness and lateral runout to manufacturer-specified standards.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A brake testing device for testing the condition of a disk of a wheel mounting assembly, the disk having,

a disk axis,
a first disk surface, and
a second disk surface, the first disk surface and the second disk surface being separated by a nominal disk thickness T, with the first disk surface and the second disk surface being substantially normal to the disk axis,
the brake testing device comprising:
a first gauge having a first sensing element for measuring the position of the first disk surface along a line parallel to the disk axis;
a second gauge having a second sensing element for measuring the position of the second disk surface along a line parallel to the disk axis;
means for generating position signals corresponding to said measured position of the first disk surface and said measured position of the second disk surface;
means for outputting said position signals;
means for securing said first gauge with respect to said second gauge such that said first sensing element and said second sensing element measure positions along lines which are substantially parallel;
and
means for positioning and maintaining said first gauge and said second gauge with respect to the disk such that said first sensing element and said second sensing element measure positions along lines which are substantially equidistant from the disk axis.

8 more elements

A brake disk testing system for testing a disk while the disk is mounted on a vehicle, the system comprising:

a pair of gauges which are aligned and which monitor the positions of opposite sides of the brake disk;
means for generating position signals corresponding to the positions;
an a/d converter for converting said position signals to digital signals;
a monitoring microprocessor for processing said digital signals;
a calculation instruction set for directing said monitoring microprocessor to operate on said digital signals to provide characterizing data for the condition of the disk;
memory for storing said digital signals and said characterizing data;
and
output means for presenting said characterizing data.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Disk brake testing device and system employing the same

Life of this patent

Disk brake testing device and system employing the same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims24